Elizabeth is passionate about inspiring to live a plant based lifestyle. She helps people interested in transitioning to a more plant based diet by sharing practical and scientific knowledge around health and nutrition through her blog @hautehealthy on instagram and has lately started her own podcast called “Plantbased, Not Perfect”. She is all about living a healthy life but keeping the balance by not letting it be defined by a specific label or dogma. Stay tuned for what she has to say in our interview!
Tell me about yourself.
My name is Elizabeth and I live with my husband and rescue dog in South Florida. My husband’s passion in life is surfing so we travel frequently, we eloped in Bali and are planning our next trip to the Mentawais – I love surf trips because I can read a lot and work on my passion, which is my health and wellness. I work full time as an Advertising Account Director for aerospace companies by day and then create content for Haute Healthy and record my podcast “Plantbased, Not Perfect” by night. I recently launched an Ebook: Simple Meal Ideas for Your Busy Life and it has been really motivating to see people sharing and enjoying my recipes on social media, creating a tribe together.
What inspired you to create hautehealthy?
Originally my girlfriend and I created it as an online health journal for ourselves and then she moved so I took it over and it has grown organically into what it is now which is a brand with a mission to help others live their healthiest lives possible – in the real world.
What was your motivation to start your own podcast?
Listening to so many boring ones, haha. I felt there was an opportunity to talk about being plantbased but not 100% “vegan” and “perfect” – I wanted to create a place with no judgement or labels, where it is okay to not be strict and only follow one way of living and eating. I personally like to learn both sides of everything and be open minded, so I wanted to spread the message of being healthy and eating as many plants as possible, but if you get tipsy and eat some cheese pizza you haven’t “failed” and no one will hate on your decision. Food has become like religion and people become so passionate they lose sight of just enjoying their lives – I wanted to change that.
I also wanted to provide a realistic view on how to be healthy while living in the real world. I have a 9 – 5 job, family obligations, a husband, student loan debt and I live in a place where health is still new to the scene, so I wanted to provide real tips, tricks and content to help others who have real world stresses. I wasn’t personally connecting to influencers and podcasters who don’t work full time jobs, so I felt it was time to create my own niche. I really love the research and studies behind the benefits of eating plants so I focused on my skills, which is Technical Writing, and made that a huge component on my podcast. It isn’t just me spouting off random information on what to eat, it is based on studies to back up everything I am sharing. I want to provide the gift of health to everyone.
What have been the biggest challenges throughout your journey so far?
Patience. Sometimes it can be frustrating with the grind of growing of a brand, but I feel so strongly about my mission to help others it powers me to continue always sharing and creating.
Where do you see yourself in five years from now?
I’m one of those people who doesn’t think very far into the future and lives in the moment so I have honestly no idea. Probably living a life much like the one I live today – in a sunny place, traveling and making my passion into my full time job. I would love to see my podcast growing into more of a community and having on guests who really help to change other people’s lives. Publishing a book would be amazing too.
Take us through a day in your life.
So on a work day I wake up around 7am, do my makeup and drink a latte or matcha with plant milk. Then I drive to work and listen to a podcast along the way, I no longer check my work email before arriving at work so I don’t stress. I bring my Lean Green Smoothie from my Ebook with me into work and break my fast around 10/11am, for lunch I come home to let my dog out and eat my lunch outside as I find that being in nature decompresses me. On days I don’t have to come home for lunch I’ll run errands, hang out at a local tea joint, shop at TJ Maxx or get a healthy lunch with girls from work. Then I head back to work until 5:30 and might have a mid-day snack with some tea at the office.
I don’t get home from work until 6pm and I aim to get movement in every single day if possible, so after work I will go to a class, workout at home or go for a walk. After working out I make a healthy plantbased dinner and spend time with my husband, it is important to me that we eat dinner together each night. At night I will return emails, work on social posts and brainstorm ideas for the podcast – I like to write everything down and I need visual lists to feel organized.
What does self-care mean to you?
To me, the food you choose to eat is the biggest form of self care.
What does your morning routine look like?
On a weekday I give myself an hour to: wash my face, put on Vitamin C followed by sunscreen, do my work makeup, drink my latte, make my Lean Green Smoothie and pack my food for the work day. Being prepared is so important so you don’t make unhealthy food choices so I try to always be ready with healthy food for work. I listen to podcasts when I’m getting ready and in the car on the way to work, they are my daily meditation. If I have time I journal what I am grateful for each morning to set my day off right, if I don’t have time then I will journal at night before bed.
What is your evening routine?
I like to workout after work, then I drink chlorophyll and take olive leaf extract, dry brush, shower, make a healthy meal and eat dinner with my husband to catch up on our days. We don’t eat out often because I like to know where my food comes from and how it was cooked, and I believe it is a waste of money most of the time. I will make tea before bed, read a book, journal or sometimes we watch a documentary, but I am obsessed with Youtube vlogs at the moment so that is like TV for me. I am more of a night person than a morning person so sometimes I stay up until midnight working on my blog and podcast, other nights I read and fall asleep earlier around 10:30. I love to read and sometimes I reread the same books taking new information from them each time.
What kind of exercise do you do?
I alternate workouts at night between: Melissa Wood Health, Yoga and Solid Core so that I am moving at least 5 days a week. I prefer low intensity workouts that are pilates/yoga inspired which help tone and lean, not bulk. I love taking walks too, I find that being outside really helps clear your head. I truly believe your diet is 90% and working out is 10%, but exercise has many other benefits so I have really tried to move more often for the side effects for your brain, heart, mental wellbeing and longevity. For awhile I was only eating really clean, but I wasn’t moving much so I challenged myself to workout more often in 2019.
What is your approach to nutrition?
Eat real food, mostly plants.
What is your clean beauty non-negotiable?
Deodorant, lotion and toothpaste because you use them every day. I love Corpus Naturals deodorant and I also take chlorophyll drops which help eliminate body odor. For toothpaste I avoid SLS in my products and for lotion I also search on the “Think Dirty” app to ensure I am buying cleaner options. I find really clean options at TJ Maxx and Marshalls.
How do you bring mindfulness into your day?
Journaling is huge for starting your day right in a mindful disposition, I find when I slack on journaling my mindfulness suffers and I am more reactive during my day. Listening to a motivating podcast on my way to work also sets the tone for my day before I arrive to work.
What are you grateful for?
My health. Everything boils down to your health, you have nothing without it so that is what I am forever grateful for each day. My mom has always struggled with her health which is what propelled me into health and wellness originally, and it reminds me frequently just how precarious it is for all of us.
What brings you joy?
Chunky babies, dogs, organization, a clean home, eating acai outside in the sun, learning about people, talking about deep topics, love
Where do you find inspiration?
Podcasts and books. I’ve always been an avid reader and I love to learn about health and wellness; I never want to stop learning. I just adore podcasts and learning from other people’s conversations and life lessons, it motivates me and inspires me like no other medium ever has. I get so passionate about people healing themselves on their own it is like how Elle Woods gets in Legally Blonde when she is on the stairmaster – I get that same motivated feeling to share the knowledge I learn with others so they can change their lives. I feel that so many people want a doctor to “fix” them and give them easy solutions, but it is when we are our own advocates and researchers that we can find out how to fix ourselves. It is possible.
What little things do you do in your life in order to make a difference in the world in terms of sustainability?
In terms of sustainability I would have to say that my love of thrift store shopping is where I shine, I love to find deals and bargains on Poshmark and in vintage stores so I don’t buy a lot of new clothing.
What was the last book you read?
I re-read Kimberly Snyder’s “The Beauty Detox Solution”, it is one of my favorite books.
Favorite podcast to listen to?
I love the MimiBee Podcast for self development and The Skinny Confidential Him & Her podcast for skincare interviews, Food Heals is also really amazing for learning about real people who have healed themselves from “mystery” illnesses. That one really started it all for me. I also really like Joe Rogan, I think he has on some amazing guests who provide so much information, my favorite guest of his was Dr. Rhonda Patrick.
Favorite app?
I actually am very minimalistic so I barely use apps, I don’t like clutter on my phone, but if I had to pick I would say KiraKira because it makes everything sparkly and the new Melissa Wood Health workout app because I do her workouts at least three times a week.
Favorite clean beauty product?
This year I switched over my chapstick and blush to Burt’s Bees and am loving them – the lip tint in Hibiscus is THE perfect natural color. They are super clean on the Think Dirty App – they get a zero, which is the best rating you can receive.
Favorite dish to cook?
My husband loves when I make this Vegan Zucchini Lasagna, the cheese is made from macadamia nuts and tastes like real cheese. I am a soup lover and I have an Easy Lentil Soup in my Ebook that I am obsessed with, I like recipes that have very few ingredients and are super simple to follow because I don’t actually really love cooking all that much.
Favorite indulgence?
Kettle cooked potato chips really do it for me.
